Archive for the ‘Public Relations’ Category
Boris Hughes
At a recent meeting of public relations professionals I asked the speaker, Boris Hughes, the million dollar question. (Actually the correct answer to the question is worth untold fortunes.) Hughes was discussing multi-platform marketing. He manages direct mail services for Hewlett-Packard so granted, the information he imparted was favorable for the continuing popularity of direct mail.
The conversation naturally turned to the use of social media, texting and the abysmal lack of proper communications skills by the “next generation” of business leaders. By “proper communications skills” I was referring to the ability to form complete sentences that successfully presented a concept, without the use of acronyms or “text speak.” Hughes offered the observation that in many cases young people entering the corporate world didn’t even have an email address, all their communications were via texting or on social networks like Facebook or Twitter.
I wondered aloud what was going to happen next – would the up-and-comers have to learn how to use email (like the rest of us) or was the corporate world going to abandon traditional business communications in favor of 140 character memos? I eagerly anticipated the answer; after all, HP is a communications and technology giant. His answer (insert dramatic pause), “I don’t know. No one does. I wish we did.” So do I, Boris, so do I.
Photo credit: Marc Beaudin/news-press.com
Once thought to be the sole province of loquacious teenagers and young adults with too much time on their hands, social media — Facebook, Twitter and the like — have in the last two years become indispensable tools for businesses in Southwest Florida.
“It’s almost become critically important for businesses to have a social media presence,” says Andy Robinson, founder and president of the CRG Leadership Institute in Naples. “Two years ago, social media wasn’t even on the radar screen of most businesses.”
Mr. Robinson counsels a variety of businesses on the proper usage of social media. His clients include law firms, CPA firms, hospitality businesses and landscaping contractors, just to name a few.
Ginny Cooper, who heads The Cooper Group in Fort Myers, agrees that social media — especially Facebook — needs to be a part of “the strategic marketing plan” for most businesses.
“The majority of sales are not made through social media,” Ms. Cooper says. “But social media can direct and channel customers to your business.”
According to Ms. Cooper, setting up a business Facebook page is relatively easy and inexpensive (it can cost as little as $100 to $200).
“The real expense involving Facebook is in the time it takes to maintain it,” she says. “You have to keep it fresh and upto date. If you don’t do that, it is of little value.”
“If you’re not going to take the time to monitor the page and keep it current, then don’t bother with it,” says Mr. Robinson.
What many people fail to realize, says Ms. Cooper, is that the demographic using Facebook has changed drastically. A recent study, she points out, says the heaviest users of Facebook are women above the age of 45.
“This is extremely important because generally women handle the buying,” she says.
The biggest mistake a business owner can make when setting up a Facebook page, Ms. Cooper says, is mingling personal information with information about the business. That dilutes the business message.
She also is a proponent of Twitter, saying it is an effective way to “communicate directly” with customers and clients.
Cindie Barker of Pure Urban Oasis in Naples says she “is not big on Twitter,” but she makes liberal and calculated use of Facebook.
“If the bar is rocking on a Friday night, I might put that out on Twitter,” she says. “But that’s about it.”
Ms. Barker says Facebook helps to define Pure Urban Oasis as not only a fine dining establishment but also as a happening nightspot.
“With Facebook, people can go to the page and make comments,” she says. “I definitely believe that it helps them feel more in tune with the restaurant.”
One of the most popular features of the Pure Oasis Facebook page is the posting of photographs.
“We do a lot of Facebooking,” she says. “And we post a lot of pictures of people partying and having a good time. That has proved to be a real hit. People always want to see themselves having a good time. It’s reliving the experience.”
Despite the widespread success of Facebook (some 750 million users worldwide), Ms. Barker says she is astonished to find that some people still consider it to be a “kiddie tool.”
“Our customers know better,” she is quick to add.
Ms. Barker estimates that about 75 percent of her advertising is done through Facebook.
Harold Balink, executive chef at Cru, a popular Fort Myers restaurant, estimates that his establishment Facebook and Twitter comprise about 25 to 30 percent of Cru’s marketing activities.
“You can spend thousands on advertising,” he says. “But with (social media) costs almost nothing. You do have to devote time to it, though.”
While Mr. Balink concedes that Facebook and Twitter are time consuming, he considers it to be well worth the effort.
“It gives you a continuing presence,” he says. “You are always on people’s minds.”
Cru uses social media to make customers aware of upcoming events and daily specials.
“It is immediate and direct,” he says.
One of the most innovative and creative uses of social media is being employed at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte.
As Michelle Ritter-Ellwood, the hospital’s director of marketing, explains, the needs and goals of a hospital employing social media are somewhat different from other businesses.
“(Social media) is not as much of a sales tool for us,” she says. “We are more concerned about community outreach and touching all those audiences that are out there. We look at Facebook as a way to have a conversation with our community.”
Ms. Ritter-Ellwood says Facebook personalizes the hospital, which can be a great means of allaying fears of people who become jittery at the mere mention of doctors or medical facilities.
Interviews with employees are posted on the Facebook page, lending a personal touch to a large institution. The hospital even posted on Facebook a video of nurses performing a dance routine.
“Things like that humanize the people who work here and help to illuminate the culture of the hospital,” she says.
But where Ms. Ritter-Ellwood has been most innovative is in the use of Twitter. If the surgeon and the patient agree, Ms. Ritter-Ellwood will gown-up and go into an operating room and tweet a minute-by-minute account of the procedure.
The hospital is careful to protect the anonymity of the patient, of course. No names are used. She does not identify the gender of the patients or where they come from.
“We do this with elective procedures,” she says. “We don’t do it with major or emergency procedures.”
Recently, Ms. Ritter-Ellwood was contacted by two grown children — a son and a daughter — whose mother was to undergo surgery.
The children lived in Los Angeles and Atlanta and could not come to the hospital to be with their mother. They asked Ms. Ritter-Ellwood if she would monitor the operation and post periodic tweets so they could know, in real time, how their mother was faring.
Again, all the usual rules applied. Surgeon approval was obtained; the patient consented; and nothing was revealed that could possibly have identified the patient. But the children, of course, were aware that the tweets involved their mother, who sailed through surgery in fine shape.
“We feel strongly that social media can help lessen fear and also educate,” says Ms. Ritter-Ellwood. “People can go on Facebook and ask about a procedure, for example. Anything we can do to bring more information and understanding to our community is invaluable. Social media are a big part of that mission.”
Facebook is known best for making changes, often without regard to what its users really want. Some of these changes seem to be based on logical marketing and public relations best practices as they relate to the social sharing landscape. Some of them seem to be born out of sheer arrogance. At least one of the changes rumored to be coming out of Thursday’s f8 developer conference is simply stupidity.
Facebook is said to begin offering developers the option to create social sharing buttons other than the “Like” button. Just when the rest of the world is getting used to see “Like This,” thumbs up icons and even the “Recommend” button, there is talk of custom buttons such as “Want,” “Need,” and ”Desire.” While Facebook may move at raceboat speed, the rest of the world cruises along like the Titanic, and that includes large corporations and small businesses alike, many of whom are just now beginning to integrate the “Like” button in their other online marketing efforts.
Changing the “Like” button will dilute Facebook’s dominance on the social scene. The move ignores industry best practices of branding. I see this rumored change as just the tip of the iceberg that has the potential to cause a marketing disaster. How do you see it?
I am sharing this message with the permission of its author, a friend of mine whose email account was hacked and who became a victim of a scam. We all know the dangers of opening unverified mail, but this message is not a post on electronic security, it’s about the value of professional networks.
Because my friend is a long-standing member of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA), the organization came to her aid in communicating with her friends, many of whom are also members. Yes, this is shameless promotion of FPRA, but also an encouragement to everyone: search out and join a really great professional association (or two!) in your industry – then get active in it. (And yes, if you’re in public relations and live in Florida, make it FPRA!) The benefits go far beyond the regular meetings!
To all FPRA Friends . . .
Many of you received an email on Friday morning and even throughout the weekend, allegedly from me. I was not in London, stranded in London, nor broke or anything else. I was SPAMMED, PHISHED and whatever computer language you would call it. Compromised and violated are the words that come to my mind.
My email has been restored, though minus many, many emails for my business, for state and local FPRA, and several other committees, and also minus all of the 1,500 contacts in my email list. It’s very disturbing that someone can invade any of us and even had the nerve to respond to three friends who returned the initial email directly.
I would say to please be vigilant about your emails in the next few weeks. Apparently, my contact information was taken from a similar scam on another friend’s email where his contact list was compromised. He, of course, just changed his password and was back in business. As many of you noted, my email username was changed, making it impossible to get back into the gmail account. Please have your IT folks look for any viruses or Trojans. I don’t think Virgil would have ever thought of his epic poem being used this way!!
The best part of this whole rotten experience has been the more than 60 telephone calls, 25 emails and other correspondence to friends and my previous employer from all of you to find out if I was truly OK. I can’t thank all of you enough for your caring about my computer situation and my personal well-being. It definitely sustained me throughout the first few hours as I stared at the computer, trying to figure out the next steps. If some of you have never experienced this FPRA outpouring, this is the best example of the true FPRA family.
Your calls throughout Friday kept me going and laughing as I tried to work with some friends to get my business up and running again. Sadly, most of the emails are gone despite Google’s statements that all their client email is backed up on their server. Google was NOT much help in this instance, even to the lack of responding to three emails. It was all of you and some local friends who kept me going and I can’t thank you enough. I owe you BIG TIME!!!!
FPRA, I can’t thank you enough for sending out a statewide email to assure everyone this was a hoax. A Treasure Coast member advised me of your statewide message.
Just an added laugh for all of you English majors, like me . . . A radio station friend told me that she knew the message wasn’t from me. How did you know? I asked. It had no punctuation and very poor grammar and you definitely would NEVER send out an email without proofing it!! My reputation precedes me!! HA HA!!!
I may be contacting some of you to re-send certain information that I need because it was lost. Again, thanks to all of you . . .
Disclaimer: This is a rant. I rarely rant. I try to offer insights to help you in marketing your business. But I spent precious gobs of time this morning caught in the automatic phone system hell of two organizations that ought to know better – chambers of commerce! Never mind that they each had exhausted the number keys with their options, here’s a couple of pointers if you think you absolutely need to use an automated system in your business:
1) Don’t.
2) If you ignore #1, at least provide an option for speaking to a real person. I should never have to dial “O” for operator only to get a voice mailbox. Repeatedly.
3) If you are going to provide a company directory, do exactly that. Don’t ask me to dial the first few letters of a person’s name because guess what? I have a smart phone. If I try to dial Q, W, E, R, A, S, D, F, Z, X, C or V, it is going to register as %, 1, 2, 3, #, 4, 5, 6, *, 7, 8 or 9 respectively. I don’t know anyone with numbers or symbols in their name, do you? In fact, I may not even know the name of your staff members! Give me departments if you have to.
At one point, in desperation, I selected the option to speak to someone in the Visitors Center. She explained that budget cutbacks had forced staff reductions at that chamber, therefore no one was available to answer the phone. Now, think about this for a minute. If a chamber’s function is to attract businesses to and represent businesses in a region, what does it say to me, as a business owner contemplating a move to that area or a membership in that group, when I can’t even get through to the organization? I’m going to be thinking “Hmmm, how will this lack of representation affect my desire to relocate/join? Perhaps I ought to look elsewhere.”
The purpose of my call was to determine exactly who at the respective organizations should receive a news release from me behalf of one of their members. I don’t necessarily need to speak to a person, I can make do very nicely with an email or an online upload. So I searched the “newsletter” and “member news” sections of their websites. Neither organization had the option to upload a release on their website, nor a link to a generic email like “news@suchandsuch.org.”
It’s been almost 2 hours now since I left one voice mail for an advertising representative (because I figured a salesperson would call me back if anyone would) and sent an email to a membership director. This is the age of instant communication folks. I’m just sayin’….
